


The Shadows of the Notary Public

by Ethonah



Category: Original Work, The Shadows of the Notary Public
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27101860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethonah/pseuds/Ethonah
Summary: The prophecy unfolds...
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my original work!
> 
> I plan to add content to this when I can! Thanks for reading!

Prologue

A Large Door opens.

A group of hooded individuals enter into a cavern, with weapons drawn and one holding a torch.

The light reflecting off of the walls in a dull hue. It shows a room with cracked stone walls, some with growing vines sneaking through. The back wall has the image of a level being pulled by a shadowed figure. This matches the illuminated sword in the middle of the room, surrounded by luminous tiles offset by black ones. 

The one at the front of the group puts his hand up and makes a circle gesture. He puts his sword away and the others spread out around the room and stay equidistant.

"Finally." They say. "I can assume my destiny. "

The male sounding figure pulls back his hood revealing a blonde haired Human male. He takes his steps towards the center of the room. He looks at the revealed handle and smiles. "As the legends foretold." He is as proud as ever.

The others that surround him lower their weapons and look at him.

He makes a move to pull the lever. It doesn't budge.

He grunts and puts his legs into it. "C'MON" he shouts. Nothing.

He steps back and looks at the lever. "This thing must be broken." 

He takes a step back, and dives at the lever. No movement.

The other members remove their hoods one by one. 

The first, A Yellow Lab with a scarred eye, rendering it useless. He holsters his crossbow to his back and starts to move forward. He wears a sorrowful expression, clearly sad about the outcome of what's taking place.

The second, A thin, Leopard Female. Her fur is disheveled and dirty. She stashes her blade that's attached to the arm. She goes to the wall and sits, in a pout.

The third, follows suit. Another human male, but this one with red hair. He holds a more stocky build. He looks a bit too clean for his situation. He stands aloof, unaware of the full situation, but aware of the anger.

The final one is a Gecko. He wears many crosses to symbolize religion. He slides his glock into his holster and kneels, beginning to pray that everything will work out.

The blonde headed male kicks at the lever.

"THIS DAMN THING WON'T WORK!"

The Yellow Lab grabs him. "Relax, Elijah. It's probably just old."

He steps back and takes a breath. "You're right. Maybe I'm freaking out." 

"Or maybe you're not the fabled savior." The lynx claims. "Nothing in that story clarified who of the five was fated to earn this power." 

Elijah turns with clear anger in his eyes. But restrains himself. "You are correct Dana, but it's quite simple, our group consists of you, our lovely former thief. That alone means you can't be worthy."

Dana grumbles. Elijah then points at the red haired individual. " Aaron's our front line brawler.. But he used to beat up guys for a living. He doesn't qualify either." 

Aaron looks at Elijah with a bit of pain in his eyes. "Look, Eli, just because you paid me to be here doesn't give you the ability to shit on me."

Elijah doesn't react. He moves on and points at the Gecko. "Lars would...."

"I get it," she says. "Basically you're the only one who's worthy because of the circumstances we were presented." 

Elijah smiles. "Thank you for understanding. Now help me get this thing out. You too, Lars and Aaron."

Michael, Dana and the Gecko (Lars) head up to the lever. They grab onto it and pull on it as a team. 

They dig their feet into the ground and try to force it with all their might. Nothing.

"Let's make a plan." Elijah says. Aaron and Lars get closer to him. He looks at the Labrador. 

"Hiro, do you have any ideas?" Elijah asks.

The Labrador takes a second to think. "Okay, maybe we can find a riddle in the room, spread out and..."

*click, chunng!*

The four freeze. They turn to see Dana was able to push the Lever alone. They are fully encased in astonishment.

They hear cogs start to turn everywhere. The tiles around the Lever start to raise and isolate Dana from everyone else. Elijah makes a mad dash for the rising platform. He tries to reach it. But falls to the ground.

A hole opens in the wall directly in front of Dana. A large mechanical hand reaches out and lays out a glowing stone in front of her. 

Elijah looks up at her in fear. “Don’t grab that!” He says. “The prophecy said it couldn’t be you!”

Dana grabs the stone anyway. The Echoes of some more cogs take effect. The Platform she is on lowers. One line is heard. “Now the real evil shall be revealed.” 

Elijah steps up to her and sticks his hand out, beckoning her to hand him the stone. She looks at him confused. 

“Give it to me.” He says sternly. “Before things get worse.” 

Dana thinks for a second, then starts to walk away. “I figured out what was supposed to happen, Elijah.”

He looks at her, with clear disdain. “What?” He asks.

Dana looks at him with a small smirk. “The Prophecy spoke of good being released to combat evil, correct?” He nods. “Then, how do we know evil isn’t born from that?” He nods again. 

Elijah composes himself. “I have been raised to be good since the day I was born. There is no alternative for me.” He says.

Dana nods. “Alright then, would you say the prophecy has spoken then?” 

Elijah and the rest of the crew nod. “It has.” Lars speaks up. “Dana, you have been foretold to save the world from it’s greatest threat. Take this responsibility with great caution.” 

Dana nods. "I will.” 

Hiro looks at her and smiles. “It’s not the outcome we expected, but I’m happy nonetheless.” He states.

“As am I.” says Aaron.

Elijah keeps his look of joy. “As am I.” 

The five leave the room one after the other. 

Dana takes the helm with the stone to light their way. Hiro follows directly behind her as he pulls out his crossbow. Followed by Elijah, then Lars, then Aaron. 

They exit the room to find nothing. The area previously guarded and defended by multiple savage animals and mad scientists was now rendered as clean as the room they just left.

“Strange.” Dana says. But then she thinks for a second. “Could that line have meant all those creatures that were here are now realized in the city?” She asks.

Lars nods. “Most likely. Let’s hurry.” Dana slides the stone in her small pouch on her belt.

They nod in unison and get to the exit and run. Weapons at the ready and prepared to fight.


	2. The Grandiose Entrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dana, Elijah, Aaron, Lars and Hiro make moves to protect the town from the barrage of creatures they released.

A large city sits proudly in a valley. A bit rugged with some aspects of a more modern city with large towers and skyscrapers. 

The group of five reach the city, and see a barrage of undead tigers and bears rushing the town. A few have been shot with arrows and only two fallen from head shots. There are 6 eagerly pushing forward in a group. 

A female Eagle stands tall atop a building firing arrows to slow down the barrage as best she can. She's running low.

Elijah rushes in and stabs a creature in the back, and it sinks to the ground.

The Eagle takes note. "What the hell did you do?" She screams angrily.

"We got the stone, Farah!" He screams. 

Farah looks at him with disdain. "I don't care, you're destroying the city!"

He nods. "We'll fix it. Do your thing guys." He says .

Dana unsheathes her hidden blade and dives at a tiger, hitting the back of the wild animal and with a quick stab from her blade, disables the cat within a few seconds of her attack.

Aaron charges an undead cat and forces him through a wall. While he's down, Lars pulls out his gun and shoots it in the head.

Lars turns quickly, and blasts a bear that's behind him in the skull.

Hiro takes out his crossbow and Elijah charges the final two. Eli hits both undead animals in their shins, bringing them to their knees. Hiro caps them off with a shot to the head with one and a chest shot for the other. 

Farah puts her bow on her back and turns to fly down, only to find an undead tiger at her heels. She tries to kick him off before the bear suddenly drops. Dana stabbed him in his foot. Farah looks on with a bit of shock.

"How are you taking them out with non-fatal hits?" She asks.

"I created a serum that enacts short time paralysis." She says. "On most life forms, it only works for a short time. On those whose bodies have no sense of self sustain or lack proper metabolism, however..." She kicks at the paralyzed tiger. "They never recover."

Farah's eyes light up.. "Do you mind sharing some of that with me? It would really..."

Hiro interjects. "Ladies, we have bigger things right now." He points to Dana's bag.

Farah nods. "My apologies. Thanks for the help." 

Dana sticks out her hand. "No problem." 

Farah looks at it and shakes it. "Have a good one." she says.

Inside her palm is a small bottle. She smiles. "Thanks. You too." She adds.

Farah turns to the others. "We don't know how many of those things got past me. Can you guys scope out the city alone?"

They nod. "Of course." Elijah says.

"Dana, you come with me." he says. 

Dana draws her blade. "Alright." She says.

Elijah looks at Lars and Hiro. "You guys can take the back alley near the city hall."

They draw their weapons and head out.

Farah looks over at Aaron. "Did you have to give me the weirdo?" 

Aaron hesitates. "I...uh..."

"Yes, you use your bow and he has his shield. " Elijah interjects. "It should help with anyone rushing you down."

Farah sighs. "I guess. C'mon, we'll take the slums." Farah leads Aaron around the back side opposite of Lars and Hiro.

Dana looks at Elijah, a bit confused. "If you were going for the mix of range and melee why did you pick me?" She asks confused. "I could have went with Lars and you could have went with Hiro." 

Elijah looks at Dana. "C'mon we are going to city hall."

Dana is stunned. "I thought we were going to help out with the search." She says.

Elijah looks at her. " I want the issue with that stone, dealt with as soon as possible. We need to appraise them of the situation."

Dana looks at him confused. "Alright I guess." She looks at him worried. "But what does that exactly solve?"

Elijah grabs her arm and starts walking. "We are going to see how they react to you grabbing the stone. You caused all this." 

Dana is about to deny, but then she drops her head. "Okay then. Guess I'll take my punishment."

The two head directly for the town's center.

\---------------------------------------------------------

The large marble building stands before them. Pillars and places all covered in white.

Dana shutters in a small bit of reimagined fear. 

"You alright?" Elijah asks a few steps ahead.

She takes a breath. "Yeah I'm fine, I just don't have... You know." She says before catching up. Elijah pats her on the back. "I get it. Don't worry." 

They get to the door and the guard stops Dana. "You are not permitted in he..."

"She's with me Carlton." Elijah says.

"My apologies Eli, just being safe." Elijah doesn't reply.

The two enter and find a room with marble floors and black padded decor. Gold lining the entire area. A large hallway and a grandiose stairwell.

"Still as fancy as ever." Dana says. Elijah doesn't care. He grabs Dana and rushes her down the hall to the first office.

"What the hell?" She asks. No response from him.

It reads.

Kyoko

City Scripture Consultant (CSC)

Elijah opens the door in a rush and pushes Dana inside. "We did it." In a consistent proud hero manner. 

A short haired, female steps down from a ladder near her shelf. She wears a long skirt black skirt and shirt. She steps down and takes a breath. "Did you find the stone?" She asks clearly peeved. 

Elijah puts on a smile and a prideful look.. "Of course." He reaches into his pocket. 

Elijah feels inside his pocket. He feels nothing. 

Kyoko shakes her head. "Did you try to steal it?" 

Elijah tries to recompose himself. "Not a chance."

Kyoko puts her face in her palm. "Good. The stone can't be taken by force. It has to be given willingly.

Dana looks at Elijah who has semi lost his edge. "Correct." He says.

Kyoko looks at him again. "Alright then. She has the stone then?"

Elijah nods as Dana pulls it from her waistband. "It's right here." Dana says

Kyoko cracks a smile. "Excellent. Then we can move forward.

Elijah looks confused. "How is that excellent?" He asks. "A thief is the good we needed all along."

Kyoko perks up. "She will be the community representative."

Dana looks confused. "What's that?" 

Elijah follows her question. "As would I, the prophecy only spoke of a good and evil." 

Kyoko looks at her. "You would represent the people at our meetings and you represent us in public doing hero work! It's decided." She says.

Dana rubs her arm and looks down. "Am I really the best option? Last time I was here I was being tried as a criminal."

Elijah nods in agreement. "She is going to be hated by the populous after the stuff she has done." 

Kyoko takes this into account. "Give me one moment." She says.

She picks up her phone and starts talking as Dana and Elijah look at her awaiting a response.

"Yes."

"Can you find the record for a Dana the Leopard?"

"Remove that please."

"Thank you".

Kyoko hangs up.

"Your record is gone." She says.

Dana looks astounded. "Just like that?" She says.

"Yes". Kyoko responds. "Just like that."

Dana smiles. "That doesn't change public opinion."

Elijah sits against the wall. Clearly in heavy thought.

The phone rings. Kyoko picks up.

"Hello sir."

Long winded voice sounds.

"Yes sir."

More long winded voice sounds

"Alright. "

Kyoko puts the phone down. "Dana, the Mayor would like to talk to you about your new position soon. 

Dana sighs. "Alright I can make some time.= for him." 

Kyoko objects. "No. This is now your top priority and I'll make sure of that." 

Kyoko hits a button on her desk. "Please take this lady to her new quarters."

"Wait, what?" Dana questions.

Two guards quickly arrive and grab Dana in a hurry. "What the hell!" She shouts.

"Well we have to get you ready!" Kyoko says. "I'll be seeing you when I'm off work alright?" She adds to the end of her talk.

The guards take her away as she submits to their action.

Kyoko looks up at Elijah who pasted himself to the wall in defeat.. "Have a good one." She says.

Elijah huffs and walks out the door.


	3. Deceitful Dogma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Dana and Elijah deal with how the higher ups react to Dana getting the stone, Aaron, Lars, Farah and Hiro clean up the rest of the town.

Hiro and Lars take their time appraising the situation. They walk slowly down the alley way in front of them. 

“We have to take things slowly,” Hiro states. “We both use ranged weapons so getting rushed is a bad idea.” 

Lars puts his hand out in front of Hiro. “Your right. That doesn’t make sense. This isn’t how we do things.” He says. “Why did he pick Dana over you or me?” 

Hiro looks Lars dead in the eyes. “He wanted to take Dana to city hall. That simple.” 

Lars decks him in the side. “Why the hell didn’t you stop him? We need to protect the city!” He shouts. 

Hiro smirks. “I just didn’t care. He’s smart. I trust him.” He says. 

Lars steps back in anger. “There are more things at risk here than his pride, and you let him do that anyway?” 

Hiro shrugs. “Look, he’s not going to let anything go wrong. You don’t have to worry.” He says assuredly. 

Lars lets him go forth. “Don’t come crying to me if he gets you killed.” Hiro shrugs and they continue their search. 

They suddenly here what sounds like screams coming from the alley way. Lars and Hiro follow it, only to find a small area with nothing there. 

“What the hell?” Lars says. 

They hear it again, and people rush out from the left alley way. Hiro and Lars follow the noise that way. 

They round a corner to enter a wider courtyard. Three undead tigers are seen chasing some of the commoners. 

Lars fires a round in the air to get their attention. “Let’s take care of this.” The undead respond with a mad dash for the two of them. 

Hiro gets his crossbow out as they charge them. Lars places three rounds in the chest of a cat before landing a head shot. The body almost hits Lars and he dodges. 

Hiro is able to fire a crossbow shot into the leg of one undead slowing it down. Lars shoots goes for another shot. 

*click*. His clip is empty. Lars reaches for his waistband for his spare magazine. 

“URGH!” 

Hiro used his body to shield Lars from a massive swipe, forcing them both to the ground. Hiro has a massive gash in his chest. Despite that, he manages to get up bloodied. 

Hiro sees another swipe coming and dodges. He looks at the bolt stuck in the beast’s leg and kicks it, causing it to roar in pain. 

Lars quickly reloads his gun. Bang! One shot to the head. The beast begins to slump. 

Hiro looks at Lars with a smile and cringes in pain. “Alright, nope, we are done.” Lars says. 

Hiro looks around quickly. “Wasn’t there a third one?” Lars doesn’t respond. 

Hiro looks around frantically. He moves from Lars’s grasp only to fall to a knee while holding his chest wound. “Yep, you’re done. Aaron and Farah can take care of it.” Lars says. 

Lars lays Hiro on his back. He opens his small pack and grabs some bandages and cream. He puts the cream on, causing Hiro to cringe in pain again. “What is that stuff?” He asks. 

“My premade antibacterial cream.” Lars says. “It hurts like a bitch, but it works.” 

Lars grabs his bandages and with a prop up from his leg, wraps Hiro’s chest quickly. 

“Why did you protect me Hiro?” Lars asks while tidying up the dressing for the wound. 

Hiro smiles. “You’re my pal. I never want anyone to get hurt.” 

Lars looks at him worried. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt either, but that mindset is going to be your undoing.” 

Hiro looks at Lars with a hint of sorrow. “Maybe it will, but that’s something I know.” He says. 

Lars sits Hiro up and places him against a wall. “Just stay here, okay? I’ll find Aaron and Farah in a second. Just, let me get you some help first.” 

Hiro nods. “Alright.” 

Lars grabs Hiro’s Crossbow and gives it to him. 

“Thanks.” Hiro says. 

Lars turns to leave Hiro to find some aid for him. His efforts are cut short by the appearance of a female Yellow Lab. A bit skinny in comparison to most. 

Lars instinctively pulls his gun on her when he notices her but lowers it after paying attention. 

“I can take care of him.” She says. 

Lars looks at her a bit confused. “Okay then.” 

“Miko?” Hiro asks when he notices her. “What are you doing here?” 

Miko looks at Hiro. “Look around dumbass, you're in my side of town.” She says. 

Hiro looks at her. “Still you should have run.” He says. 

Miko chuckles a small bit. “I would have kept running if I didn’t hear crossbow bolts firing and the pistol going off.” 

Hiro notices Lars who is still a bit confused. “Oh right, Lars, this is my sister Miko.” He says. Lars understands immediately. “Miko this is Lars. He’s one of the few people that I fight with.” 

Miko looks over at Lars. “Thanks for trying to help him Lars. I’ll take it from here.” She says. 

Lars nods. “Alright then.” He hurries off to help Farah and Aaron. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Farah takes a few of her remaining arrows and dips them in the liquid Dana gave her. She puts the rest away and places the arrows back in her quiver. She then looks over at Aaron who quickly looks away. 

Farah sighs. “Do you like me or something Aaron?” She says, looking at him with express frustration. 

He only nods. “I do. Is that a problem?” 

Farah turns her glare to the streets ahead of them. “No. It’s not. Your conduct is. I don’t like your money first attitude.” 

Aaron smiles. “Well, I am the one who grabbed the stone. Which also means that I am the good this world needs.” 

Farah doesn’t break stride. “That’s a crock of bullshit.” 

Aaron goes for his pocket. Nothing. 

Farah looks back and sees him frantically patting himself. “Did you actually try to steal that thing?” 

Aaron nods dejectedly. “I did.” 

Farah shakes her head. “Unbelievable. Did you do it to impress me, or to make a quick buck?” 

Aaron shrugs. “A bit of both I guess.” 

Farah hits him in the back of the head. “That’s what you get for being a greedy little shit. I don’t even care about the prophecy and I know that you can’t steal the stone.” 

Aaron pulls his Shield. “We got four undead Bears in front of us.” 

The alley way they are in reaches a tight three way exit. It's currently semi-closed off by the debris, seemingly caused by the enemies in front of them. 

Farah looks around and takes note of their situation. Short buildings with some wooden crates and no real ways to run except back the way they came.

Aaron takes a closer look. The Bears are clawing a house and inside sit a few people who have are cowering in fear. Their door has caved In and been blocked. 

Farah pulls her bow out. “Excellent.” She loads an arrow.

Farah pulls one of the paralyzing arrows and hits a Bear in the back. Two seconds later, he slumps down not moving. 

“Get their attention.” Farah says. 

Aaron obliges with a simple move. He rushes the Bears and hits them in the side. 

The attention shifts to him as they start to attack Aaron with slashes and Aaron uses his Shield to defend them. 

Farah gets on a wooden crate and takes aim. Aaron is losing ground fast. “Take a Shot!” He says. 

First Arrow is a head shot, dropping a bear instantly. 

Farah loads up her second shot. She hits the bear in shoulder. As expected, it drops quickly. 

Aaron digs his heels into the ground and slows down his movement. Steadying Farah’s aim. 

Farah hits her next two shots with ease. Dropping the bears with shots to the head. 

Aaron pushes their carcasses off him, and he takes a breath. Excellent work. 

Scurrying is heard across the roof. “Shit.” Farah says. Farah grabs an arrow and makes a move. An undead Tiger charges her. She manages to avoid its first strike but takes a strike and falls to the ground under it. 

Under the beast she drops her bow. She manages to free her hand with the arrow and stabs the beast with the arrow. 

Shortly after, the Tiger falls on top of her. 

Aaron rushes over and shoves the beast off her. “You all right? 

Farah nods. “I noticed just in time.” 

Aaron smiles. “Good. We should clean up this area and help those people out.” 

Farah smiles. “Yes. Let us.” 

The two of them see the trapped family and see the weakening supports. 

“I’ll use my shield to make a to the safe path for them.” Aaron says. “Then you get in and help them. 

Farah nods. Aaron quickly forces his shield into a small opening and widens it. He holds it in place while Farah gets inside. “Follow me. Is anyone hurt?” She asks. 

They oblige her. “Noone was injured outside of a few scratches and bruises.” says one of them. They all get led out safely and Aaron removes his shield, allowing the opening to fall. 

Lars rounds a corner. “You guys good?” 

Farah and Aaron nod. “Took out 5 of them.” says Farah. 

“Good.” Lars says. “Let’s get to Town Hall.” Lars says. 

“Why are we going there?” Farah asks. 

“Elijah took Dana there.” Lars says. 

“Alright then.” Aaron says. “Let’s do it.” 

The trio head off in the direction of the city center. 

“Where’s Hiro?” Aaron asks. 

“He got hurt, so he’s getting treated.” Lars says.


	4. The Disposition of Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoko gives Dana a breakdown on history to prep her for future events.

Dana sits in a room alone, handcuffed to desk and frustrated. 

Her hood and raggedy under clothes have been replaced with a new polyester dress shirt and a pair of dress pants with a suit jacket. Nothing too girls but more so, something to fit her and look presentable She nearly claws at her arm but resists, defaulting to a light rubbing of her arms. She is clearly uncomfortable.

The rest of her room is pretty standard with a more government edge to it. Wooden floors and desks with more paper and pencils loading the drawers in the area. Some Decorative Pillars are placed in the corners of the room as well the main unique thing being the semi-out of place bed set in the back of the room. Dana looks towards the door to her right and sighs seeing her equipment right next to it.

Dana focuses her claws on the lock. She tries to jimmy the lock and it she hears it click like she’s almost got it.

The door opens, and she quickly drops her hands. Kyoko steps inside alone holding some papers.   
“How do you like your new clothes?” She asks.

Dana frowns. “I don’t. These don’t feel right with my fur.” She says.

Kyoko sighs. “Okay, we’ll get something better soon, this is just something for now.” She responds.

Kyoko walks in front of the desk Dana is attached to. She puts down a few of the papers in front of her. 

“What is this? Dana asks, frustrated.

“A Quick Lesson” Kyoko replies. “You need an unfiltered knowledge of our history. What do you know?”

Dana looks at Kyoko with clear disdain. “I only know what I heard on the streets. You should know that from my reputation and social status.”

Kyoko sighs. “Of course. My mistake.” She reaches over and points to the top of the page. “What do you know about the Neon Nexus or NN?

Dana keeps her same look. “I know the name. Not how it’s relevant.”

Kyoko stands tall. “It’s the name for a formerly unexplained phenomena that connects our current day to our past.” She says. She flips a page and Dana follows her. The first of old newspaper articles. The first titled, ‘DNA Defines New Breeds’.

“That first article is about the research into your kind.” Kyoko states. “On April 25th 91 years ago, 1% of land animals on the planet became anthroporphized. They used to be grouped with animals, but DNA aligned them more with humans and they showed almost identical DNA trails to humans. “

Dana looks up. “They were treated like regular animals, weren’t they?”

Kyoko nods. “Yes, to an extent. Multiple Groups formed in reaction to them quickly. The one you mentioned, despised them. There were also the people who just disliked them, those that accepted them and the ones that accepted them a little too much.” 

Kyoko flips to the next page. A news article about the conflicts. “This quite literally took so many resources that technology upkeep failed. It’s why we are so limited now in our capabilities.”

Dana nods. “That doesn’t matter as much right now. What else?” She asks.

“Flip to the next page.” Kyoko says.

Dana flips and the page is familiar. “The Prophecy. How is this related?”

“The Prophecy came from places unknown.” Kyoko starts. “It arrived soon after the world devolved into cities that refuse or accept your kind. It was connected by the weird spread of this tale.” 

Dana looks closer at the text. It reads:

`The stone of power shall reveal the truest of good and the most treacherous of evil. The five symbols of strength shall come together and from them shall erupt the greatest good that shall usurp past triumphs and lead the way for the future. The stone may only be held and given, never taken. And the ones who surround the good, should meet the fate that they deserve.’

“There’s an additional line.” She says.

Kyoko nods. “We hid that line for a reason. During the years soon after the spread, no one would dare attempt the quest as a party.” Kyoko sighs. “It’s possibly why Farah didn’t join you.”

Dana smirks. “Of course, you hid something. Anything else?”

“Next Page.” Kyoko says.

The final page talks about the disappearance of suburbs thanks to a new animal issue. “Now this I know about, the undead animals, right?”

Kyoko nods. “Yes.”

Dana smiles. “Seeing as you mixed up the other two events, this must coincide with the others as well. The Animals started coming back from the dead if they died of natural causes. Being killed by regular means, renders this unable to happen. They have metabolism, which means they are alive, but they lack sense, and the metabolism is incredibly slow.” 

Kyoko nods. “Correct. Perhaps I underestimated you.” 

Dana smiles. “I expected that. Is that it?”

Kyoko smiles. “Not everything.”

She places one final sheet in front of Dana. “Elijah, Hiro, Lars, Farah and Aaron will be assisting her in you.” Kyoko says. “I wanted to pick some people you already had a connection with so the dynamic still existed.”

Dana smiled. “Thanks. That’s perfect for now. Can I be uncuffed?”

Kyoko pulls a key out of her back pocket. “Good.”

She walks over to take the handcuffs off of Dana. Kyoko unlocks them and Dana grasps her wrist.   
“You know you didn’t have to do that right?” Dana says. 

Kyoko shrugs. “You were and still are a flight risk. As you stated no one fully trusts you. So I took actions to prevent that. You’ll be sleeping here until we trust you.”   
Dana smirks. “Can’t blame you there.”  
A guard enters the doorway. “Ms. Kyoko, the rest of her group has arrived.” They state.  
Kyoko smiles. “Great, bring them in.”  
As the Guard gets them, Kyoko grabs Dana by the arm quickly, taking her by surprise. “Do not tell them what I told you about the prophecy, Farah is under strict orders to not do the same. I don’t want to scare them. Especially Elijah, he cares greatly about fulfilling it and I could tell he was hurt by you doing so.” Kyoko looks at her with a hint of fear after finishing her statement.  
Dana nods. “Alright. For their sake.” She says in a hushed manner.

The other five enter the room one by one, along with Miko next to a bandaged Hiro.  
Farah looks at Kyoko with Dana. “Why are we here?” She says. “You don’t allow anyone up here unless you need to talk about something.”  
Kyoko puts on a fake smile. “Thanks to your hasty actions, we can move forward with our first expedition.”  
“Expedition?” Aaron asks. “What are we doing?”  
Kyoko smirks. “As a town, we’ve heard grumblings of an attack on our neighboring city. We don’t know for sure.” Kyoko looks at her audience. “ Typically, we would send some guards in disguise, but they have been getting caught or failing to return.”  
“So, you want us to go in their stead?” Dana asks. 

Kyoko nods. “Yes, you leave in a few days. We’ll organize a kit for you.”

Hiro and Elijah smile. “Great, this should be fun.”

Aaron steps forth. “I’m sorry, but are we getting paid, I don’t do work without getting paid.”

Kyoko shakes her head. “Yes, you are government employees now.” She responds.

Aaron nods. “Alright then.”

Kyoko shoos them away with her hand. “That’s all for now you five, just be here in three days.” She says.

Most of the group obliges. Farah and Miko stay behind.

Kyoko takes note. “Ladies why are you still here?”

Farah takes a breath. “You know exactly why I’m still here for one.” She says angrily. 

Farah rushes Kyoko and grabs her, taking Dana and Miko by surprise.

Kyoko grabs at Farah’s hands as she slams her into the wall near the back of the room. “If anything happens to anyone because you decided to hide some information, I will kill you.” She says.

Miko and Dana look on in confusion about the sudden outburst from Farah.

Kyoko tries to pull down Farah’s arms, and fails as she drives her into the wall more forcefully. 

“Do you understand me?” Farah says sternly.

Kyoko signals a nod as best she can. 

Farah drops her and lets her go. “Second,” She starts. “This girl, she’s joining us as well.” She’s trained medically.

Kyoko looks from the floor still in pain from being grabbed and slammed. “Okay, I can make the arrangements.” She forces out.

Farah helps up Kyoko after that affirmation. She looks over at Dana who is still in a bit of confusion. “Dana, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, okay?” She says as if nothing happened.

Dana nods. 

Farah heads out, dragging Miko with her.

“Dana,” Kyoko says. “Do you trust me?” 

“No.” She says bluntly. “I want to, but I know Farah better than you, and I know she doesn’t act out like that. I want to know the full story with her.”

Kyoko nods. “In time. I need some rest so make yourself at home, we have a heavy day tomorrow!” She says eagerly.

Dana thinks for a second. “Wasn’t I supposed to meet the Mayor today?

“Last minute change of plans” Kyoko says, “Enjoy your stay.” She says.

Dana nods. “I will, thanks.”

Kyoko heads out and closes the door to the room.

Dana finally stands up properly and stretches her legs. She grabs her equipment and slides it underneath the bed in the room. She goes through everything and finds that all the stuff she had is there.

She goes to sit on the bed, and almost cringes at the comfort presented to her. She tries to let herself sink into the bed. 

She lies back on the bed, giving herself to bed completely. No dice. She kicks and moves around a bit, only to find she can’t find a comfort spot. 

She then eyes the floor. She grabs a pillow and puts it up against the nearby wall. She lies on the ground and puts her head up. ‘Perfect” She thinks to herself.


	5. The Aesthetics and Content

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dana meets with the Mayor for the first time.

Dana lies motionless on the floor of her lodging. Her equipment, underneath the bed next to her. 

The floor creaks in the dark room. Nothing can be seen. Dana keeps her position on the floor.

The creaks creep forth. Dana quickly grabs her blade and stands to defend herself. 

“Easy, I told you I would see you today,” Farah says.

Dana holsters her blade but stands ready to attack. “Why did you come to see me now? It’s barely morning.” She says in a hushed tone. 

Farah grabs Dana's hand swiftly. “I want to talk to you and show you a way out during the night.” She replies. 

Farah leads Dana over to a Pillar. The wall piece that there sits in a crawl space, opening a small hole.

“That’s clever,” Dana says. “Now where are we going?”

“To the roof” Farah replies. “Not too far, but somewhere we can conversate normally.”

Dana nods. “Alright.”

The two of them shimmy through the crawl space until they reach a different room, it has a Fire escape attached with a bunch of apparently old and used boxes of stuff inside, all marked ‘FRAGILE’ Dana takes note and then follows Farah out the window. 

“Catch,” Farah says while passing a key to Dana. She is caught off-guard but catches it. She turns and locks the window. Then, they proceed up to the roof.

Dana tries to hand the key back to Farah and she puts her hand up. “Keep it, that one is yours. I have like 15 saved up just in case.” She says.

Dana slides it into her pocket. “Alright, then what’s up? Why the mysterious meeting?” She asks.

Farah drops her head. “Kyoko told you they asked me to go after the stone right?” She says solemnly.

Dana nods. “She also added that’s why you didn’t join us even when we asked you.” She adds.

Farah looks up. “Well, since I was such a presence as the “police,” the Mayor thought it would be fitting that I make a group go take the stone.” Farah looks over at Dana. “I want to protect people, and dooming the people I bring with me was not something I could stand with.” She added in a monotone voice. 

Dana could sense something deeper was going on but didn’t respond to Farah’s words. 

Farah takes a breath, then continues. “The Mayor wouldn’t let me say no, and even with Kyoko’s support, he refused to take no for an answer, but I chose to leave.” 

Dana puts her hand on Farah’s back but she pulls away. “The Mayor manipulated Kyoko and the others and came after my reputation, my family, and my loved ones. All in one swoop.” 

A tear starts welling in her eye. “The Town knew the allegations were bullshit and my personal reputation remained unaffected, but…” 

Farah pauses. A few tears start streaming down her face. “My sister was attacked by bandits that used government sanctioned weapons and toxins... My Sister was alone at home and I found her the next day... she only had a cut on her neck, like she didn’t put up a fight, and yet placed in her bed like she did it all herself, with a fake suicide note. My sister just got her dream job, she was in no place to kill herself.”

Dana inches towards Farah.

“That conniving bastard even made Kyoko break up with me. I had no one left and he took her away too.” She forces out.

Dana grabs Farah and hugs her, she tries to fight away, but it’s a losing battle. She stops fighting it and uses it as a refuge. She sobs into Dana's shoulder, completely broken, opposite her typical demeanor. “Why did I have to cause all of this from my selfish actions?” She cries out.

Dana keeps holding on tightly. “Don’t blame yourself. This is on him.”

Farah grips Dana tightly. The Early Morning sky over the top of them as she lets out pent-up frustration, pain, and anguish all in one moment. They stand there, for a few minutes until Farah loosens her grip, and let's go.

“Sorry for making things worse,” Farah says.

Dana smiles. “You’re fine. Thanks for letting me know what I was getting into.”

“You should probably get back before Kyoko does her early morning surprise and you aren’t there,” Farah adds. 

Dana nods. “Thanks again.” She says as she walks over to the fire escape to head back inside.

Farah stops Dana, grabbing her arm last minute. “Just, be extremely careful with what you say to him, you have the stone now, but I don’t know what he plans to do with it or you now. So watch him. Be wary, I don’t want to see you, Hiro or Elijah hurt by anyone. It’s why I had Miko join us. If something happens, at the very least she will be with the rest of us when the time comes.”

Dana nods. “Thank you.”

Dana climbs down the fire escape and slides back into the room. She just manages to lie back on the pillow when the large main door opens and a familiar voice says. “Good Morning.”

Kyoko comes barging in. “We need to get you ready for your meeting.” 

Dana stands up. Kyoko looks at her a bit mad. “Did you really sleep in a suit on the floor?” 

Dana shrugs. “I don’t wear suits.”

Kyoko grumbles. “Take it off. I’ll have it prepared in an hour. Just go get cleaned up.”

Dana nods. “Alright. Where’s the Bathroom?”

Kyoko points at a door across the hall. “Do it thoroughly..” 

Dana nods. “I got it covered.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An older looking Gazelle sits at a desk, He sits at attention, almost awaiting an entrance. His office is pristinely cleaned, almost perfect. A desk with only a notebook, along with a book next to it labeled ‘City Census’. The ID on his desk reads ‘Mayor James Miller’ next to a phone. 

The Floor is a pristine black tile and walls covered with shelves filled with books on city information. Two chairs sit opposite the Mayor and one off to the side.

The door opens. 

A young female human walks in. “You look, great sir.”

He sits back in his chair. “Good.” He gently loosens his tie and takes a deep breath. 

“I want to seem strong and firm.” He says. “Dana is notoriously bad, so my plan needs to come off without a hitch.”

His assistant nods. “I understand.”

Mayor James grabs his phone and enters a few numbers in. “Kyoko, you can bring her in.” He hangs up.

He takes a deep breath. He readjusts his tie and sits at attention again. His assistant grabs a notepad out of her pocket and sits down on the chair beside the desk. “I’ll make sure you cover every topic.”

James nods. 

Dana opens the door slowly, nervously. “Hello, Mayor?” She says.

James upholds his act. “Please sit down.”

Dana sits down in a chair in front of him. 

James takes a breath and starts speaking in a straight tone. “The stone you possess came from a prophecy that was spread all around the world. Do you fully understand what that means?”

Dana grabs her thighs in an attempt to dispel some of her worries. “That means anyone who knows that I possess it can be an immediate threat if they want it.” She says hastily.

James takes a breath. “Correct.” He says. “This is why I wanted to discuss this with you. We think we should keep it under wraps about who has it.” 

Dana nods. “I agree.” 

James opens the book on his desk “What is your official family name?” I don’t want your family to get hurt.”

Dana freezes for a second. Farah’s fears ring true in her mind. 

“Are you okay Dana?” James asks. 

Dana snaps out of her head and takes a breath. “Yeah, sorry. I don’t have an actual family name, I picked Dana to be my name.” She says. 

James looks at her skeptically. “Really?” He asks.

Dana nods.

“Alright.” He closes the book. “So, would you say you only really care about your group?”

Dana shakes her head. “They are good company but no one I would give my life for.”

James sighs. “Okay.” He says while sitting back. “Look, I’m guessing you have a tough time trusting me because of how you were raised on the streets and all the bad things you heard about the government, but please understand that as long as you do what’s asked there won’t be any problems.” 

“You missed a part, sir.” His assistant speaks out.

He nods. “Right, thanks, Vera.” 

Dana looks over in confusion. “What is it?” She asks with a hint of worry.

James stands up. “You work close with Farah right?”

Dana nods. 

James walks over towards the front of his desk and sits on it. “Has she ever told you anything about me?”

Dana shakes her head.

James smiles. “Good. That’s good. She has a negative opinion of us, so that wouldn’t help us figure things out now would it?” He says in a lighthearted manner.

Dana doesn’t react. “Where are you going with this?” She asks.

James crosses his legs. “Now, I want to be frank here, she had a shitty thing happen to her and due to coincidence, it appears that I’m to blame. I can’t fault her at all for seeing the correlation.” He says. 

James reaches into the back of the notebook on his desk. “I tried to give her this but she had completely lost all hope and motivation when it came to working for our government.” James hands Dana a check. “Can you give this to her as our compensation for what happened? We would redo the autopsy, but for some reason, her sister’s body was taken before we could.”

Dana grabs it. “I will, thanks.” She says.

Vera signals that he’s covered all the topics he wanted to.

James swallows and takes a breath. “Do you have any questions for me? otherwise, we’ll get the show on the road.” He says.

Dana ponders for a moment, asking more about the Farah situation would reveal she lied after all.

Dana stands up. “Just one, actually. Why should I trust you in the first place? All that I’ve heard so far in this talk is you pry into my family and friends then apologize for apparently making a mistake?” Dana crosses her arms and stands tall. “To me, it’s all reasons not to trust you.”

James nods and scratches the back of his head. “That’s fair. It is.” He doesn’t finish his response, however.

Dana stares daggers at him. “No explanation or reason. Perfect.”

James sits, perplexed about what to say next. He ponders for a second until he comes up with this. “Well, all I can guarantee is that you are now incredibly vital to the matters involving this city and the world. You quite literally hold all the cards, and you could have been anyone, luckily. you came from our city.” 

Dana crosses her arms. “Another fake promise shtick?” She says.

James shakes his head. “On the contrary, because of what you gave me, I have nothing on you, you could leave tomorrow and I couldn’t stop you so if I don’t appeal to you, then I have no cards.”

Dana nods. “That makes a small bit of sense.”

James readjusts himself. “Does that mean you trust me?” he asks.

Dana turns to leave. “Not fully, but for now I will do what you ask. Just don’t give me a reason to doubt your reasons and ethics.”

James nods. “Of course. Have a good one Dana. Kyoko will be with you shortly about the gear upgrades.”

Dana opens his door. “Alright.” and leaves. 

James breathes a few sighs of relief. “That is exactly what I was afraid of.” 

Vera nods. “She is a scary individual.” She replies.

James smiles. “At least, for now, we have her where we need her.” He says.


	6. Mixed Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lars is asked by Hiro to meet him at a bar and he goes against his better judgement. Meanwhile, Miko studies for the expedition

Lars walks into the courtyard by himself. In his hand, a box of new rounds for his pistol.

He stops and looks up at the sign for the place he’s in front of.

It reads ‘Terry’s Tavern’. Lars shakes his head but goes inside anyway. The mostly wooden place has scattered tables and old chairs. Only a few passed out people sit in the back on a few tables. The Bartender, a dark-skinned human male, leans against the bar

He sits down at the bar. He pulls 4 empty clips out of his back pocket and places them on the table.

“What are you doing there?” The Bartender asks. Lars looks up to see that he is grasping a bat. He quickly puts it down after looking closer at the Gecko.

“Hello Terry,” Lars says. “How’s it going?”

“I’m fine. My question is what the hell are you doing here in the middle of the day? You call this place a “house of sin.” Terry says in a very firm manner.

Lars sighs. “Hiro and Elijah asked to meet me here. I’m taking the opportunity to reload my gun.”

Terry shakes his head. “Of course they had to get you here. Do you want anything to drink?”

Lars shoos him away with his hand and Terry grumbles before going back to his book. 

Lars takes his time loading his Bullets 1 by 1 into his clips, putting them in his special made holsters for them.

As he finishes, the door opens. Hiro stands a little shocked.

“There he is,” Hiro says. He turns to someone outside. “He actually went inside.” He says.

Hiro holds the door as Elijah enters and he lets it close behind them. They sit on opposite sides of Lars.

Lars holsters his final clip. “So, why did you want to meet here?” Lars says with frustration. “ I don’t like being here.”

“No reason, I just wanted a drink,” Hiro says. 

Lars stares daggers at Hiro. “Really? Because in that case, I’m leaving.”

Lars goes to stand up and Hiro grabs his shoulder. He gestures over to Elijah who is clearly upset. Lars sits down. “Terry, can I get some water?”

Terry nods. “Do you want anything Hiro?” He asks.

“Just a beer,” Hiro replies. 

Terry nods again, “And you Elijah?” 

Elijah looks up. “I’ll have the same.” Terry nods and goes to get it.

“Elijah, you okay?” Lars asks. 

He shakes his head. “I’m just a little, very, confused.”

Hiro interjects. “What do you mean?” 

“How was Dana, out of all of us, the one who got a hold of the stone?” He asks.

Lars and Hiro look at each other and shrug. “Well, if the stone sees her as the good we need, then who are we to judge,” Lars adds.

“But how do we know that it’s correct?” Elijah asks. “How do we know that the stone isn’t fallible?”

Lars shrugs. “We don’t. But we should trust it until we know otherwise.” He says.

Elijah objects. “That’s a load of bullshit, I trained and prepared just for this and somehow the former thief is the one who gets classified as good. What the hell does that say about us.” He complained.

As Lars and Hiro think about how to respond, Terry comes around with their drinks, placing the water in front of Lars first and the beers in front of Hiro and Elijah. Hiro takes a sip while Elijah gulps his drink down quickly. Lars doesn’t take a drink.

“I think you're worrying too much about this. “Terry suggested. “From what I heard, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t good because your friend was classified as good. It actually means that you chose your group pretty well.”

Lars nods in agreeance. “Agreed. It was your leadership that brought us together, so it would make sense that you can’t be bad or wrong simply because someone in the group was called the good you sought out.” He adds.

“Exactly. You made the choice to have Dana in the group. You share her accomplishment.” Hiro says. “That’s honorable in itself.”

Elijah cracks a small smile. “Maybe. In that case, the best thing I could do is help Dana out.” He notes.

Terry looks at Elijah pensively. “That seems like a foreign concept to you. Aren’t your friends?”

Elijah shrugs. “I don’t know anymore, to be honest, I tried to take the stone from her when we first got the City Hall.” He revealed. “I was obsessed with that stone.” 

Hiro shrugs. “Don’t even worry about it.” He responds. 

Terry nods in agreement. “Since you admitted it, we can move forward.”

Lars thinks for a second. “Hey Hiro, can I speak to you outside?” He enquires. 

Hiro nods. “Of course. We’ll be right back Eli.”

He just downs his drink. 

The Gecko and Labrador step outside. 

“So what’s up?” Hiro asks.

“How do you feel about Elijah now? After he said he tried to steal from Dana.” Lars inquires.

Hiro shrugs. “Not much has changed. He’s still my friend and he admitted his wrongdoing.” 

“That’s the problem,” Lars notes. “He deluded himself because he wanted the stone and did something that ended up endangering his relationship with Dana, the townsfolk, by ignoring the beasts and acted in a way that he never would otherwise. It’s worrying.”

Hiro again, shrugs. “He’s human, he can move forward because he admitted what he did. You believe in confession right?”

Lars nods. 

“Then this was his confession, let him go forth with that knowledge.” He answered

Lars sighs. “Again, I don’t want to see you getting hurt by poor judgment again. I’m all fine with you helping others and being nice to them but listen to me as someone who supports those ideals fiercely. Do not do this at your own expense.” He responds.

Hiro pointed to the scar on his eye. “Do you see this?”

Lars nods. 

“This is what happened the last time I didn’t trust Eli when we were fighting,” Hiro revealed. “He saved my life, and I thought that I could do it myself. He was patient with me, so I owe him that luxury, okay?” Hiro says.

Lars nods. “Okay, just keep what I said in mind.” 

Okay. 

Hiro and Lars walk back inside. Elijah is two beers deep and he also had a shot.” 

“You can go now, Lars,” Hiro says. “Thanks for the help.”

Lars nods. “I’ll see you soon.” 

Hiro waves him off and Eli looks at Hiro expectantly.

“What were you two talking about?” Elijah inquiries

Hiro smirks. “He wanted to tell me that he had a crush, he wouldn’t tell me who and didn’t know how to deal. Don’t tell him I told you, he wanted to talk in private for a reason.”

Elijah smiles. “Huh, that’s funny.” He downs the rest of his third beer.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miko sits at home. Her apartment is very bare. Her Kitchen is generic with some black countertops and a few dishes in the dishwasher. Her Living room only has a bookshelf with medical books and an old black leather couch.

Her room also only had a bookshelf of fictional novels and her bed. 

She is on her couch reviewing on the fly medical procedures when she gets a knock at the door.

She stands up and looks through her peephole. 

She sees Farah at the door.

She quickly unlocks it. “What’s the issue, Farah?” She inquiries.

Farah hands Miko a pouch. “You don’t have any combat experience do you?” 

Miko shakes her head. “Hiro has done anything I needed when it comes to protection. All I have are some minor judo techniques he taught me for self-defense.” She responds. 

Farah nods. “That’s why I got you these. Check it out.” She replies.

Miko looks inside the pouch and pulls out a dagger and some small shurikens. “Do you plan on teaching me how to use these?” She asks.

Farah nods. “Listen, I don’t want you to end up being a walking target or liability because you don’t know how to fight, so I used some connections and got these special weapons.” She points at the bag. “Pull them out, you’ll see.”

Miko pulls out the dagger and removes its sheath, it appears normal but there’s a button on the handle. 

“What does that do?” Miko asks.

“It launches the shuriken projectiles.” Farah answers. “You can load up to three of them in the bottom and when you need to, press the button and it will launch,” Farah adds.

“That’s smart,” Miko notes. “Thanks.” 

“No problem,” Farah replies. 

Farah tries to walk away but Miko quickly stops her. “I have a question for you Farah.”

She turns. “What’s up?” 

Miko looks at the pouch. “Why are you doing this for me?” She asks. “I’ve seen you around but why are you doing so much for me?” 

Farah sighs. “You remind me of my sister a bit, worried about Hiro, and wanting him to be happy all the same. Her voice breaks as she finishes her answer. “That’s exactly what she did.” 

“She sounds nice,” Miko replies. “I hope I can meet her soon. Thanks for the aid.” She says.

Farah turns. “Not a problem. Since we leave tomorrow, I’ll see you in the morning to work on some basic techniques.” She responds.

“Like what?” Miko asks.

“Like a simple leg sweep and stab, or some defensive maneuvers.” Farah answers. “Simple, and useful, that’s the motto for you right now.”

Miko nods. “Alright. See you then.  
Farah waves and walks off.

Miko waves and closes her door. 

She goes back to her couch and grabs a book based on vitals sitting back and chilling calmly. Her tail wagging from eagerness to learn.


	7. Practice and Prepare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miko and Farah get some training done.

It is early in the morning. Sun is barely on the horizon. 

Miko stands in front of her house, holding her dagger with the sheath and pouch next to her.

Miko stands ready to attack. Her eyes focused, and grip firm. She stabs at the air. 

She then starts a small flourish, repeated attacks in a seeming pattern, finishing with a side swipe. 

She smiles. She gets a tap on her shoulder and jumps, and jabs at the figure.

Aaron is standing there shield up, blocking her attack. "You seem nice." He says with a hint of humor.

"I'm sorry, you scared me." She replies. "How did I look?" She asks.

"Enthusiastic." Aaron notes. "C'mon, Farah told me to come get you." 

Miko smiles. "Of course." She says eagerly. 

She grabs her dagger’s sheath and the pouch holding the shurikens off the ground and sheathing the dagger. 

"I can see why Farah took a liking to you" Aaron notes. 

Miko smiles. "Thanks."

They head off and walk directly towards the wild. "So where are we going?" Miko asks.

"Farah has a training ground set up just outside of town." Aaron responds. "It's a good place to start, and it's hard to find unless you know what to look for." 

Miko nods. "Good." 

The duo walks directly into some trees. Aaron and Miko navigate through them and they come upon a bunch of thick brush. 

"Go through it Miko." Aaron requests.

Miko nods. "Alright"

It is a clearing, surrounded by strategically fallen trees and planted bushes. 

A pile of Burlap stuffed Burlap sacks lie on the ground next to a target. Nearby is also a wooden spike with a sack stuck on top with a small bull's-eye marked out.

Farah stands behind a makeshift barrier.

She fires a few arrows into the target.

She looks over at Miko. "Good, your here."

Farah walks picks up a belt and hand it to Miko. "I got you a belt with some places for your equipment, much easier to carry and use then by hand and more available then in a pack." She notes.

Miko puts down her dagger and pouch and attaches it to her waist. "Thanks." She replies. "I can even add medical supplies for stuff on the fly."

Farah smiles. "Now, a dagger is very simple to use." She says, pulling it out of the sheath. "It's why I picked it for you." 

Miko nods. "That I know. Hiro asked me to set it up at one point." She adds. "What do I need to learn?" She asks.

"Put simply, just how to use it for defense and aim with the extra attachment." Farah says. "I can't teach you attack patterns until you’re in an actual fight, but I can tell you how to defend." She adds.

Farah hands her the blade. Miko takes it slowly. "Now, block my attacks." Farah goes and grabs a staff. Miko stands ready to attack. "Also, Aaron, reset my dummy for me."

"No problem" Aaron replies, and gets to it.

She starts by jabbing at Miko, who quickly picks up on that pattern. Deflecting using the blade in a left to right motion and adjusting her feet accordingly. 

Farah smirks. "Better than expected," She says. 

She switches from a jabbing to a swinging motion. Miko counters at first by crouching and backing up, quickly deflecting the first two hits. Farah adjusts to side swings as well and ends up hitting Miko in the side.

"There." Farah says. "You know how to deflect and move but you get overwhelmed fast." She says.

Miko objects. "I'm sorry but isn't that an issue with most daggers? Especially due to the size."

Farah nods. "Yes, unless your extremely skilled, it's difficult to keep defenses up." Farah thinks for a second. "How do you know this stuff?" Farah inquires.

Miko smiles. "Like I said, Hiro tried to teach me some stuff." Miko responds.

Farah smiles. "It's good, pretty basic, but good." She notes. 

"Now, I'm gonna allow you to attack, just don't hurt me, okay?" Farah asks.

Miko nods. "I'll do my best."

Farah starts with her swinging motion again. Arcing her strikes like she is using a club. 

Miko keeps her distance, instead of deflecting, using the additional mobility to move. 

"You can't dodge forever." Farah shouts. "How do you defend?"

Miko looks at Farah waiting for an opening, until she thinks, she uses her off hand to stop the staff, and moves in with the blade and stops just short of her face. 

"Good. You saw it." Farah says. "Jabbing can be deflected but you can't move in because of the motion. And Swinging or slashing cannot be deflected as well, but it's exploitable." She notes.

Miko nods. "Okay. Is there anything else with defense?"

Farah shakes her head. "You already have the instincts thanks to what Hiro got into you. It is seeming more about getting comfortable with your weapon for you. Just keep that in mind." 

Miko nods. "Got it. Okay, what about aiming to his thing?" She asks.

"That's easy. But it needs some practice." Farah says. "May I see it?"

Miko hands Farah her dagger. 

She points it at the target. "It shoots straight, but it's easily clogged so be careful." She explains.

Farah aims and points it at the dummy Aaron is fitting to the post. 

She shoots and the small shuriken hits the dummy, almost grazing Aaron. 

He turns, thinks for a second. Then just steps to the side. "My bad." He says before walking off.

Farah hands Miko her weapon. "Take a dummy before you go, practice is your friend with the shooting aspect." She explains. "Do you have any questions?"

Miko shakes her head. "I don't, and I have my brother if any do come up." Miko says. "Thanks for taking the time out to help me."

"It's not a problem." Farah says. She grabs one of the dummies on the ground as Miko attaches her pouch and dagger to her belt. Farah hands Miko the dummy. "Practice well, and I'll see you in two days." She adds.

Miko nods. "See you then." She walks off.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The Door creaks open to Dana’s room. Kyoko stands in the doorway as Dana sits on top of the desk, a bit bored looking at the ceiling. She is wearing her typical rags instead of her suit, as Kyoko asked.

“This is worse than the stint I had in prison.” Dana says. “At least other people were there then.”

“Then I have some good news.” Kyoko says. “I’m letting you go out for a bit today.”

Dana smiles for a second, then stops. “What am I doing then?”

Kyoko looks at her disapprovingly. “The Mayor wants me to have you pick out some weapon upgrades for your group. He would send our armory guy, but you know you guys better than we do.”

Dana nods “You got that right. Do we leave now?” She asks.

Kyoko nods. “Yes, we do. I’ll be sticking with you today.” She notes

Dana thinks for a minute. “Why isn’t a guard coming with me instead?” She asks. “Wouldn’t tha.”

“It’s what the Mayor requested.” Kyoko snaps. “C’mon, we’ll be leaving now.”

The two of them take a few flights of stairs down and exit into the street. Dana thinks for a second, then to a more rural area of town. 

“Why aren’t you headed for the regular weapons dealer?” Kyoko asks, extremely concerned.

Dana smirks. “His prices are inflated as hell, he baits people who don’t know weapons well with gimmicks and tricks, they aren’t bad, but they aren’t good. She explains. “I have a guy.”  
Kyoko nods. “I’ll follow your lead.”

Dana and Kyoko enter what appears to be some slums. “Be careful/ what you say.” Dana says.

Kyoko nods.” Alright.” She says.

Dana turns behind a broken down building and finds a basement door. She knocks 3 times quickly, then 3 times with a longer space. 

The door is opened by a young Lion with some darker fur. “Dana, it’s nice seeing you again.” He looks over to Kyoko. “Do you need some help?” He says in a concerned manner. 

Dana smirks, “Don’t worry, she’s just my Girlfriend, Agata.” She says.

Kyoko blushes and quickly blocks her face. Agata laughs. “My bad, just thought you were in trouble. Come on in.” He says, clearing the way.

The Basement stairs lead to a well-organized, yet small armory. Swords and Daggers on the left, Crossbows and Bows in the center, and guns and shields on the right, with special rounds and arrows on the top. 

Kyoko is a bit impressed by the system in place. There is also a small corner counter in the back with a lion sitting in a chair, with some lighter fur and a X shaped scar across his face. 

“Hey Dolph, your favorite customer is here.” Agata says. “She’s got a new friend too.”

The lion with sand a X shaped scar smiles. “That’s great, what do you need?” He asks.

Dana smiles. “I need a full kit, my friends and I are going to be leaving soon for an expedition, so we need an upgrade on all fronts.” Dana asks. “What’s the best you got Dolph?”

“Gimme a second.” He responds. 

Dolph goes into the back and grabs a few things. “Agata, can you help me out?” Dolph asks.

“Of course, You ladies can look around while we get this stuff.” Agata says.

Kyoko whispers over to Dana. “Girlfriend, really?” 

Dana shakes her head. “If I said anything else, they would have shot you as soon as you entered.” She explains.

“Oh.” Kyoko whispers. “I understand.”

Agata and Dolph come forth with a sword.

“This is our latest find.” Dolph says. “I think you’ll like this.” He adds.

“What do they do?” Kyoko interjects. 

Dolph smiles. ‘A curious one, I like her.” He says. “Agata show them.”

Agata grabs the sword and unsheathes it, revealing a black blade. “This was forged from some obsidian. It’s more durable than steel and sharper, so it can go through more things and last longer.” He explains.

“That’s perfect for Elijah, he’s been wanting a new blade for a while.” Kyoko says. 

“Okay.” Dana says confused. “How do you have anything notable about anything else?” She asks.

“Nope. Just what is on display. Help yourself and we’ll talk about payment.”

“Alright, thanks.” Dana says.

After a few minutes of searching, Dana and Kyoko have a crossbow, 2 pistols, and the sword along with bolts and bullets and bring it up to the counter.

“We got what we need. What’s the price?” Dana asks. 

“You get the special price, 500 bucks, the sword is a gift.” Agata says.

Dana smiles. “Thanks.” 

Kyoko pulls out some cash and leaves it on the counter. “Thanks for the help.” 

Dana and Kyoko head out of the basement and back to City Hall. 

Dana smirks. “Do you like me Kyoko?” She asks.

Kyoko shakes her head. “No, I don’t.” She replies.

“I saw you blush when I said you were my girlfriend.” Dana explains. “I won’t tell anyone. “

“I don’t know right now.” Kyoko says. “I need to spend more time around you first.” 

Dana nods. “Okay that’s fair. Just do not beat around the bush. I hate that.”

Kyoko smiles. “Ok.”


	8. Primary Exodus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The selected 7 make their first moves to leave the city, expedition 1 is underway.

Dana sits waiting in the lobby, all seven bags sitting in front of her with the preparations for their trip, looking at them. 

She's lost in a gaze as if conflicted on something.

"You alright?" A voice says, breaking Dana's focus.

She looks up as Farah stands holding the main door open allowing Miko to follow in behind her. 

“Hey, Farah.” Dana states. “Are you ready for this?” She asks. 

Farah smirks. “I’m always ready.”

Dana looks over at Miko who is trying to appear serious but her tail is wagging. “I don’t think you introduced us,” Dana says.

“I’m Miko, Hiro’s sister. Nice to meet you.” She interjects. “I’m gonna be your medic for the trip.” She says sticking her hand out. “Farah has been giving me some fighting pointers.” She adds.

Dana shakes it firmly. “Good, Hiro is gonna need you with how reckless he is.” She jokes. 

Dana releases Dana’s hand and directs her attention to Farah. “Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?” Dana asks.

“Of course,” Farah says. 

The two of them step outside into the morning air, leaving Miko alone.

“Kyoko may have a crush on me, Farah, I don’t trust her so I wanted to let you know the situation.” She explains.

Farah shakes her head. “Kyoko always sucked at hiding her feelings.” She notes. “I would wait on making any moves with her. The Mayor could be using her to manipulate you as he did me..” She adds.

Dana nods. “Okay.” She replies. 

Dana tries to open the door and Farah stops her. “Thanks for checking with me about this.” She says. “You can pursue her if you want, just be careful,” Farah adds. 

Dana smirks. “As always.” She adds. 

The two of them head back inside as Elijah and Hiro arrive from the other side, fully geared up.

“This is going to be interesting,” Elijah says. “Hiro has never had his little sister here for an adventure. Maybe she can tell us some embarrassing stories about him as a kid.” He jokes. 

Hiro forces a chuckle. “Maybe.” He says.

The door opens again. 

Lars and Aaron enter, Lars is much more eager than Aaron who is clearly frustrated.

“Perfect Timing,” Kyoko says while stepping out from her office.

Kyoko positions herself at the door facing the rest of the group near the prepared packs. She pulls out a map from Farah’s bag. “Now, here’s what you need to know.”

She holds it up so the others can see. “You have what should be a 4-day journey ahead of you, there and back. Each of you have a map in case you get lost and if that does happen, you have three rendezvous points depending on the day.” 

She points to a place on the map. “Heading south from here, there is an old farmhouse that is your goal for day one. This place is well boarded up and easy to protect. It’s about 1 day from Yeshua Village and our city.” She says. 

She adjusts her pointing to a place near the target village.“On Day 2, there is a cabin about an hour away from Yeshua and that’s where you go if things go to shit. On Day 4, you just come back here.” Understood?”

Everyone nods. “Good,” she replies.

Kyoko puts the map back into Miko’s bag and distributes its items. “Inside your packs are water bottles with a filter, a day worth of regular food, and emergency vitamins should you need help along with ammo should you need it. Any questions?”

Miko raises her hand. “Why do I have a gun?” She asks.

“My bad, Miko,” Dana replies. “I wasn’t sure if you would be good at fighting so I brought you a small weapon just to be safe. Something simple.” She adds.

Miko grabs the gun and holsters it. “Not a problem, I can pick up some lessons from Lars too then.” She notes.

“I'll be happy to do that,” Lars interjects. ‘Welcome to the team.” 

Dana thinks for a second. "That reminds me, Hiro, Elijah, Lars, you can leave your weapons here. We got you a few upgrades." She reveals. "Did you put them in their packs as well?"

Kyoko nods. "Correct."

“By the way Lars, I got you a Glock with an extended mag," Dana notes. "I know you run out of ammo too often."

“You pay good attention. Thanks, Dana.” Lars says. 

Dana nods. “No problem.”

“Everyone good?” Kyoko asks. 

They nod.

“Good, Just remember our current status on this mission is just to check the neighboring city and report back,” Kyoko explains. 

“Kyoko” Dana interjects. “What should we do if the town is completely FUBAR like it’s overrun with animals or invaded?”

“I didn’t consider that,” Kyoko replies. “That does present us the opportunity to help out and gain trust, but it also puts you at a tremendous risk.”

“Judgement call depending on the situation,” Farah says quickly. “Shouldn’t be too hard.” 

Kyoko swallows and takes a breath. “That’s fair. Just make sure you send someone as a messenger so we can send help.”

“Will that be all Kyoko?” Hiro pipes up. “I think we all would all like to get a move on.”

“I can agree to that” Aaron shouts. “The sooner we leave, the sooner we get paid.”

Kyoko takes another breath in a semi frustrated way. “That will be all. You can leave when you are ready.” She turns and quickly heads back into her office. 

“Is she typically like that Farah?” Dana asks while strapping her bag to her side.

She shakes her head. “No. That was strange.” She replies.

“Well, that’s not our focus now. “Elijah says. “The Farmhouse is a straight shot on the main path from the village, so we shouldn’t have too many issues.” He states.

“Let's move then," Aaron says. "I prefer traveling during the day."

One by one, The group exits City Hall with their bags strapped to their backs. Farah takes the lead with Elijah by her side. Aaron, Miko, and Dana take the middle with Hiro and Lars making up the rear.

\-----------------------------------------------------

After trudging along their path for 2 hours, their journey has been uneventful, and easy.

“It’s been quiet,” Dana pipes up. “I don’t like that.”

“Doesn’t the quiet mean that it’s going to be easier?” Miko asks.

Dana shakes her head. “The Animals that roam always stalk and attack travelers, a lack of both means that we could just be lucky, but I highly doubt that.”

“I say we take our blessings as they come,” Elijah says. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Look, from experience, I know that if you want to attack someone, you don’t want anything or anyone giving away your position, and random animals are the quickest way for that to happen,” Dana explains. “The time to attack someone is when they are relaxed and comfortable, not when they are nervous or on guard.”

“That’s fair.” Elijah agrees. “Stay on your guard.”

Farah signals everyone to stop. “Silence.” She says, freezing everyone in their tracks.

A faint growling is heard in the distance. 

“Do you hear that?” Farah asks silently.

They all nod. 

“I can’t tell if that is directed at us or not, so draw your weapons, and be ready.” She adds. "Keep moving and talk only when necessary."

They draw their weapons, everyone, ready for an attack. 

Footsteps encroach on their position as they move as silently, getting louder and louder as they tried towards them. They continue moving at a slower pace to potentially move out of range of Its detection.

"Alerting this guy means alerting others in the area," Farah whispers. "I can take a shot from the trees to distract them, but I'll need some help."

Dana nods and Farah acknowledges it with a follow-up signal to climb the tree next to her.

"Do you have any smoke bombs on you?" Farah

Both of them reach a high branch and Dana reaches into her pocket, pulling out a few. "What's the plan?"

Farah takes one and ties it to the end of an arrow. "I just need something to make noise, Miko, Lars, or Hiro could have worked too, but your smoke bombs cause a small explosion, which means better effect and the added effect of blinding those that enter," Farah explains. "Simple tactics.

Farah aims carefully towards an opening away from them and takes the shot.

The smoke bomb goes off, and the multiple animals are heard rushing to the site of the explosion. They only see one, a bear that crosses the path in front of them, ignoring the rest completely. The growling they heard tapers off;

Farah and Dana make their way down to the rest of the group. "That should distract them long enough to put some space between us and them," Farah explains. 

The group starts moving at a quicker pace.

"Good thinking, Farah," Elijah says. 

“Well, that’s no fun,” Aaron interjects. “I actually wanted a fight.”

Farah sighs. “I would rather not take that chance.” She replies. “Too many variables.”

Aaron chuckles. ”I know, I know, this has been just a little boring.” He admits.

Hiro reaches into his pocket and pulls out a deck of cards, turning towards Aaron to present them. “That’s why I always bring these, when we take a break, we’ll play a game. How’s that?” Hiro says.

“I can get behind that,” Aaron responds gleefully. “Beware of my poker face, no one can beat it.”

Lars chuckles. “We’ll see about that. I’m no slou...” 

“Guys,” Dana says sternly, breaking the conversation.

Two masked figures stand wearing long clothes and gloves to hide their skin, silently holding daggers at their sides. Elijah draws his sword and Farah loads an arrow as Dana steps up to the front.

“State your purpose,” Elijah commands sternly.

“Family.” a female voice says mockingly.

“Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me,” Dana exclaims angrily.

“Dana who the hell are they?” Elijah asks forcefully. “You recognize them?”

Dana takes a deep breath, “These are my sisters, Karen and Brittany.” She says, clearly very annoyed. “Keep your weapons up.”

Dana takes off her bag and reaches into it as the two unmask themselves. One with a full face claw scar and the other who looks identical to her.

“You don’t trust us, Dana?” The scarred one asks. “I’m offended.” 

Dana digs into her bag angrily, “The last time I saw you, Karen, you stole from me after I decided to help out Elijah, and you took my favorite dagger set and my necklace.” She replies. “For someone who talks a lot about family, you don’t embody that at all.” 

“Let’s make this simple then,” Brittany says. She pulls out a necklace and Dana’s old weapons. “We want to help you.” She states.

Dana shakes her head with a chuckle. “That’s a crock load of bullshit.” 

“Would it help if we allowed you to handcuff us or tie us up? Karen fires.

Dana pulls out some rope and cuts it. “Yes, it does.” She hands Hiro some of the rope. “That’s why we are gonna tie you up.” 

Lars stands utterly exasperated. “You actually trust these two? Why?” He shouts

Dana shakes her head as she walks closer to them. “I don’t. But I trust you guys and I know if they make a move we can recover,” she says. 

She takes a breath and calmly ties Karen as Hiro follows and ties Brittany’s hands together. “And even then, I like to think that they have enough dignity to make up for the bullshit they pulled because before that we were pretty close.” She notes. “It’s up to them to make it work.” 

Growling starts up again in the distance. “Let’s keep moving, Lars, keep your eyes on them, let’s get to the farmhouse.” Dana finishes. 

“Thanks for giving us a chance,” Karen says. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“We’ll see,” Dana says sternly. “Silence for now.”

“Alright, sis,” Brittany says. “We’ll play nice.”


	9. Night Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They reach the farmhouse, two people heavy, and decide on a game of knowledge.

The sun begins to set on the first day of their journey as they reach the farmhouse, exhausted from the day's travel.

It appears, red and worn down, but apparently structurally sturdy. Baseboards and decks outlined in dust-covered white and brandished with a presenting sign of ‘Roseanne’s Farm’ standing on the walkway to the door. It’s surrounded by typical farm equipment with silos made for grain sitting empty, but still standing tall. The matching barn on the side on the other hand has a large, hole in the wall, and holes in the rooftop. The empty fields have some basic wooden fencing where animals would stay but are now abandoned. 

“Day 1, complete,” Elijah says exhausted. “Let’s get inside.” He says.

Aaron chuckles. “Gladly.” He replies

They walk past the sign and enter the farmhouse. The inside matches the outside, with the main difference being a prepared fire pit where the dining room table would be, along with a few fire pokers scattered around the area.

“This is somehow better than I imagined,” Farah says. 

She drops her pack near the door and the others follow, gathering around the pit.

Aaron pulls out an igniter and quickly sets the pit ablaze with few sparks. 

“Now then?” Aaron says gleefully. “Let’s play.” 

Hiro pulls his pack of cards out of his pocket and shuffles the deck. “All right, for everyone here, we are going to start with War, with a twist.”

“What’s the twist?” Karen asks, “Sounds fun.” 

Hiro smiles. “It’s gonna serve as a questionnaire of sorts. The Highest card asks the lowest card a question they have to answer. Straightforward and simple.” He replies in a fun sounding tone. 

“This sounds a bit pedantic,” Farah says. 

Hiro shakes his head. “Well, we also have Aaron here who doesn’t know us that well, my sister and Dana’s two sisters.” He explains. “Might be a good opportunity for them to get to know us on a less superficial level.”

“I’ll play, just don’t get any funny ideas,” Farah explains. 

Aaron smiles. “Great.”

Hiro begins to shuffle the cards as Dana quickly unties both Karen and Brittany.

“Try anything, and I cut your throat,” Dana states sternly. 

“Understood,” Karen replies. Brittany nods silently.

Hiro deals the cards out to the nine players and straightens up. “Round 1, set your deck, and drop the cards.” He explains. 

They each grab their cards and stack them neatly, before playing the top card.

High card, Hiro, low card, Brittany.

Hiro smiles. “Brittany, what is your idea of a fun time?” He inquires.

She directs her eyes towards Dana. “A fun time for me would be spending time with family and friends, doesn’t matter what the occasion is.” She responds. 

Elijah sighs. “That’s kind of common right?” He asks.

Brittany shrugs. “That’s just me.” She replies.

Dana physically cringes at the cheesiness of that response. “Didn’t know that.” She notes.

“Draw the second card,” Hiro says. After a quick barrage of dropping cards on the floor, we have our results. 

High Card, Dana, Low Card, Miko.

“Hit me with your best shot,” Miko says while looking smug. “I can take it.”

Dana takes a small breath with a smirk to finish. “Fuck, Marry, Kill. Elijah, Aaron, Lars.” 

“Easy,” Miko says. “Fuck Elijah, Marry Lars, and Kill Aaron.” She responds.

Aaron looks shocked. “What did I ever do to you?” He responds. 

Miko looks at him with disdain. “You have been angry since we started this and it’s only day one,” Miko explains. “Is it possible for you to explain why you’ve been a wet blanket?”

Aaron takes a breath. “Safety. Money symbolizes that for me.” He reveals

“How so?” Miko asks.

“My family used to have a lot of it, and we could do literally anything we wanted, it’s why I have my shield.” He explains. “But, during an invasion of our old town, we lost everything, we were able to make it out.”

“Then, what happened?” Farah asks.

Aaron adds a fake smile. “In a short time, my family started dying of disease, my dad, my mom, my uncle. My sister, all dying from strains of lung cancer, and with no funds, we couldn’t do anything about it.” He says solemnly. “I still have my two brothers, but my top goal is to have the funds to help them and second is to be there when possible. 

Farah ponders to herself for a minute. 

“I’m sorry for bringing that stuff up,” Miko says.

Aaron smirks. “Not an issue, I like having tho…”

“Alright, let’s get to the third round” Hiro interjects hoping to end the sad talk. “Cards down.”

High Card, Lars. Low Card, Dana.

Dana sits back. “What do you have for me?” She asks.

“Something simple. He replies. “Why did you never tell us about your sisters?” 

“Good question Lars,” Karen interjects. “Why did you keep us a secret?” 

“Because I stopped caring,” Dana says nonchalantly. “They are biologically my sisters but I’m not actively claiming after the shit you pulled,”

“Can’t complain,” Karen says. “Probably would have done the same.”

“Same here,” Brittany says.

Dana smiles fakely, while 

“Round 4,” Hiro says.

High Card, Aaron. Low Card, Farah.

Aaron smiles. “Why don’t you like me?” He asks.

Farah sighs. “Are you serious?” She asks. 

Aaron has a stern look on his face. “Yes, why don’t you like me?”

Farah sits up and takes a breath. “First, you are obsessed with money which is a deal breaker for me in any situation, secondly, since you seem to last on the ball, I’m not into men.” She explains. “Does that satisfy you?”

Aaron sits in a bit of shock. “Let’s just skip to the last round.” He says. “Let’s play some poker or something.”

Hiro nods. “I think this wasn’t as good an idea as expected.” He explains. “One more and we are done. Flip them.”

High Card Lars, Low Card, Karen.

Karen smiles. “This should be good.” She says.

Lars thinks, a little conflicted, but then he comes to a realization. “What were you and Brittany doing in the forest?” He asks. “It seems we forgot to ask you that.” 

“Easy, we were on our way back to see Dana?” Karen says. “What else did you think we were doing?”

“But, then why did you hide from us?” He asks. “You were not on the main path then you appeared out of practically nowhere.” 

“We used to be thieves. Getting caught on the road is a bad look.” Karen says.

Dana shakes her head. “Again, if you aren’t doing anything nefarious, you wouldn’t need to hide.” She states.

“Look, it was a force of habit, okay?” Karen says. “Old habits die hard.”

Dana nods, “That’s why you work at these things, instead of running from them.” Dana says. 

Hiro stands up and grabs the cards, putting them in a deck. “Seeing as we don’t have any sturdy outer walls around us, we are going to need some shifts for the night watch.” 

“I already have a plan for that Hiro.” Elijah pipes up. “It’s simple. We’ll let Miko, and Dana’s sisters rest up tonight since Miko is new to this and we don’t trust Dana’s sisters.” He pulls out a small piece of paper. “Shift 1, will be Lars and Aaron. The Second, Farah and Dana, and I’ll take the last with Hiro. Does that sound good?”

Lars nods. “I’m guessing we start now?” He asks.

Elijah nods.” That would be best, everyone else, let’s eat up and get in for the night.”

Lars and Aaron grab their weapons and the appropriate armaments. Lars pulls out a silencer and attaches it to the end of his pistol.

“I don’t plan on being the source of hate if we need to attack something.”

They head outside as the rest of the group grabs food and drinks from their bag, preparing them over the fire.   
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moon rises in the sky, as Lars sits leaning on the outside of the farmhouse and while Aaron comes back from a perimeter patrol, matching his position.

“Has anything happened yet?” Lars asks.

Aaron shakes his head. “Still quiet.” He replies.

Lars peeks his head through a window and sees everyone else asleep inside. “Everyone is finally down for the count.” He says. “Aaron, what do you want to do with your life?”

Aaron pulls out a cigar and lights it. “To support my family and live happily.” He says.

Lars shakes his head. “What would make you happy then? If you didn’t have to get money and take care of your family?” He asks.

Aaron takes a puff of his cigar. “That doesn’t matter.” He says. 

Lars smirks. “I think it does, personally.” He adds.

Aaron jabs Lars in the side with his elbow. “That’s only because you follow all the Church nonsense,” Aaron complains. “Try to exist in the real world for a minute.” 

Lars facepalms. “Are you telling me my belief is the issue?” Lars asks frustrated. “I beg to differ.”

Aaron chuckles. “C’mon, you have to admit all that stuff is bullshit,” Aaron says. “It’s a money ploy.”

Lars takes a breath to compose himself. “I know that not everyone agrees, that’s why I try not to go around shoving my faith in everyone's face. I help where I can, that’s that.” Lars explains. “I enjoy doing things to help people, that’s why I do what I do. You seem to only be here for the money.” He explains. “Do you even want to help people?”  
Aaron steps out in front, steaming. “Of course I want to help people. I can still complain.” 

“You are getting everything you want, why the hell are you acting like you don’t want to be here?” Lars silently shouts.

“Because I’m Afraid!” Aaron says. “I’m afraid that being out here means something will happen to one of my brothers or their kids and I can’t do anything, even more so if I was to die out here!” Aaron reveals. 

“Aaron, cal…” Lars tries to say.

“Do you know how that feels?” Aaron says angrily. “Not being able to be around when they need me?” He says. “It fucking sucks.”

Aaron ends his rant and takes a breath. Lars stands up. “Do you know how to make a will and allow people who can access your bank account?” Lars asks.

Aaron shakes his head. “No.” 

“By going to the bank and making a plan, you can distribute your funds and stuff to your family should you perish,” Lars explains. “And you can allow them to use your funds when they need it.” He notes.

Aaron takes a puff of his cigar. “I didn’t know that. I’m doing that as soon as I get back.” Aaron says.

“Hmph. Thought you would say that.” Lars says.

“I have some work to do,” Aaron says. “Thanks.” 

Lars puts his hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Not a problem. I’ll check the perimeter again.” He says drawing his pistol. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

Aaron leans back on the side of the house and takes another drag of his cigar. He peeks inside the window to check again, nothing seems out of the ordinary.

Karen stands up and quietly steps over Dana and Brittany and makes a silent break for the door, and Aaron stops her as she opens it.

“Where do you think you're going?” Aaron asks silently.

He pulls her outside and quietly closes the door silently. 

Karen sighs. “I need to take a piss and when I checked, the bathroom inside is nowhere near safe for living beings.”

“Fine,” Aaron says. “Just, use the bushes near the house,” Aaron says. “If Dana doesn’t trust you running off, I don’t either.” 

“I get it. I’ll just be a moment.” She says.

Karen walks off towards the bush and Aaron gets back to smoking his cigar after seeing her dip inside.

He ponders what his family is doing right now, hopefully sleeping peacefully.

Lars comes around the corner holding Karen at gunpoint. “What is she doing outside?” Lars asks.

“She needed to take a piss,” Aaron explains. 

“Okay, you are good this time, but don’t try to sneak off,” Lars says to her sternly, pushing her towards the door.

Karen pouts. “I didn’t even try anything.” She says.

“Inside now,” Lars says.

Karen gets inside and Lars posts up next to Aaron. “Do you think they will try anything?” Lars says.

Aaron nods. “Of course they will, it depends on what.” He replies.

“Well, in any case, we should be waking Dana and Farah soon,” Lars replies. “We can get some sleep,” Lars says. 

“Lord knows we need some good sleep,” Aaron jokes.


	10. A Generous Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Dana and Farah's Turn on Watch.

Dana feels a gentle nudge at her leg. "It's time to wake up." Lars states. "Time for your watch."

She opens her eyes and groggily stands up. She sees Aaron do the same to Farah. 

"I wanted to let you know," Lars starts. "Karen used the bathroom outside in a bush for some reason. You'll know better than me if that means anything." He states silently.

Dana rubs her eyes and walks over to her bag, grabbing her daggers. "Thanks for letting me know." She responds.

Farah takes a breath and stands up quickly. "Changing of the guard." She says. "Let's get this done."

Farah steps over Brittany and Miko silently and gets her bow, then steps outside. 

"She seems excited to do this," Lars notes. 

Dana shakes her head as she finishes preparing. "She always is," she notes. "Get some good sleep you two."

Lars and Aaron nod and silently take to the floor, prepping themselves for several hours of sleep.

Dana quietly opens the main door and shuts it, she wakes up a bit when the air hits her. Farah stands outside at attention as if she wasn't asleep meer seconds ago.

"If we get on the roof, we have a better view of everything." She says. "Can you help me out?" 

Dana shakes her head to refocus and breathe. "Yeah, I can, let's find an angle." 

Dana and Farah head left towards the bush and Dana holds Farah up so she can check it. She bends down and analyzes the area, only to find nothing.

"She didn't do anything," Dana notes vocally. "That's unlike her." 

Farah shakes her head. "What's the issue?" She asks.

Dana stands back up. "Lars told me one of my sisters was snooping around." She explains. "He wanted me to check it out." 

They both stop at the side of the farmhouse. "That makes sense," Farah says. "You are the go-to person on being deceptive."

Dana chuckles slightly. "That's a fair judgment."

Dana crouches next to the house. "I'll give a boost and then you pull me up." She explains.

Farah nods and quickly gets on Dana's back. She then grabs at the side of the farmhouse and muscles herself on top. 

She takes a quick breath, then looks over the side and sees Dana backed up in a running stance. 

"Get ready," Dana says.

Farah sticks out her hand, and Dana takes aim. She quickly jumps with all her might and she is able to connect with Farah, and with her help, is able to get herself up onto the roof. 

They both stand on the roof and take a peek around. No animals or people in sight.

Dana sits down calmly on the roof and Farah keeps her position for an extra second before sitting herself.

“Be honest,” Farah starts. “How do you actually feel about them being here?” She asks.

Dana sighs. “I think I’m waiting for the bandaid to come off.” She replies.

“What do you mean?” Farah asks.

“I don’t trust them,” Dana says. “Plain and simple. But, regardless, I still care about them, so I think I’ve been looking for any sign or idea that says to more than just me that I can’t trust them, so I can write them out of my life for good.” 

Farah puts her arm around Dana. “That’s fine.” She says. “I can’t blame you for having doubts.” 

Dana sits still. “Maybe they prove me right, maybe they don’t, I just don’t want to get hurt again.” She admits.

“You’re good in my book,” Farah says. “Don’t worry about it.” 

Farah takes her arm off of Dana and stands up to look around. She spots a small Lynx who has entered the farm unprovoked.

“Thanks to you, this has become a walk in the park,” Farah says. 

She draws her bow and a tipped arrow and takes careful aim. 

ZIP!

One easy shot, one easy hit, and the animal drops with only a mild yelp.

The door to the Farmhouse opens, with only a minor creak, putting Dana at the alarm. 

She watches carefully as Brittany closes the door silently and looks around, Farah joining her after she holsters her bow.

Dana stands crouched on the edge of the rooftop watching her.

Brittany steps out further from the house, and after a few seconds of searching turns to enter the house, only to see Dana sitting on top.

“What got you up in the middle of the night?” Dana asks.

“The one with the shield though I was you, and I couldn’t sleep,” Brittany responds. “Had a lot on my mind.”

“What are you looking for? You seemed like you were looking for something.” Dana asks.

“You actually,” Brittany says nervously. “I have something to tell you.”

“Alright, then,” Dana says. She turns to Farah who stands behind her. “Farah, you got this covered?” 

Farah nods. 

Dana hops down from the rooftop quickly and starts to stand next to Brittany. “What is it?” Dana asks.

Brittany takes a breath.”Sorry, if I seemed a little animated during the game.” She says.”I still have problems trusting people I just met for obvious reasons.” 

Dana keeps a straight face. “Are you going to get to the point?.” She replies. “I need to help Farah with her 

Brittany puts her hand into her pocket and reveals a wanted poster for Karen. Dana shakes her head.

“What did she do, Brittany?” Dana asks annoyed.

“Well, she did what she does.” Brittany joked. “But, this one is on me.”

Dana hides her feelings of shock and pain. “What did you do?”

Brittany takes a breath. “Karen stole from a rich dude and he put out a bounty for the retrieval of his items as they were family heirlooms.” She explains. “I decided to tell him a description of who it was for some cash.” She reveals.

Dana shakes her head. “Why am I not surprised?” She responds. “Does she even know?”

Brittany shakes her head. “She doesn’t. It’s why we ran out of there in the first place.” She adds. 

“What do you want me to do about it?” Dana asks, a bit restrained.

“Can you tell Karen you did it?” Brittany asks. “That way it fits the payback narrative and our relationship is spared.”

Dana looks at Brittany with disgust riddled across her face. “Are you serious?”

Brittany nods. “Yes.”

Dana looks at Brittany, her face riddled in pure disgust. “How fucking pathetic are you?” She shouts.

Brittany takes a step back. “So that’s a no.” She replies.

“Of course it’s no,” Dana says sternly, she then realizes something. “Did you pull this shit with me too?” 

Brittany shakes her head. “That was a dual effort.” She explains. 

“I’m not taking your word for that,” Dana replies, firmly. “I’m asking Karen when she wakes up.” 

Dana turns and takes a breath. “Look, I want you to tell her, and that means doing so before we reach Yeshua tomorrow,” Dana explains. “That is where we are headed.” 

Brittany takes a breath. “Is she going to get caught?” She asks nervously. “I don’t want that.” 

“You should have fucking thought of that before you sold her out for money,” Dana commands. She then takes a breath. “We have a hidden cabin about a mile or two from Yeshua. She can stay there.” 

Brittany breathes out. “Okay. Thanks.”

Brittany turns to walk back inside and Dana grabs her arm. “What is the situation with Yeshua currently?” She inquires. “We are supposed to check in on them.”

Brittany ponders for a quick moment. “When we left, there were rumors of an attack from a neighboring town, I think Ai Village, but I don’t know why.” 

Dana shakes her head. “Fucking perfect.” She exclaims.

“Can you let go of me now?” Brittany asks.

Dana looks at her with a serious glare. “All you are here for right now is our escort since you have some form of knowledge and connections within the city.” Dana declares, digging her claws into her arm. “Any inkling that you have some plan to hurt or steal from anyone will be met with immediate backlash. Do you understand?”

Brittany nods anxiously. “O-Ok.” 

Dana releases her grip. ‘Get out of my sight.” 

Brittany nods and she hastily gets back inside.

“You gonna be okay?” Farah asks, sitting on the edge rooftop. “I know you wanted it to be private but I kinda heard most of the backend of that conversation.”

Dana shakes her head. “I don’t think the amount of shit I’ve just been asked to carry is going to be solved with just blowing off steam.” 

Farah nods. “Take your time. I can take care of everything.” She says. “If you want, take a walk. I can cover the farmhouse.”

Dana sits down, deeply conflicted. “I think I just need to do some soul searching.” She explains.

“Alright, take your time,” Farah says, in a comforting manner. “I’ll be here if you need me..” 

Dana forces a chuckle to try to appease Farah, but Farah leaves looking worried for her.


	11. Set the Ground Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan unfolds and the truth is revealed.

The Sun peers over the horizon, gazing through the trees and marking the dawn of a new day. This drapes the farmhouse and the surrounding lands in sunbeams.

Hiro opens the door, allowing the sun to flood the room. He stops and holds the door open for Elijah.

Hiro lets the door close with a subtle thud as it fits into the hinge. “Let’s get them up.” He says silently.

Hiro and Elijah go around the room waking up everyone using some gentle shakes to not startle them. They go in a system, starting with Miko, Karen, and Brittany then following with people by the shift order to give them a bit more time.

Elijah grabs some food from his pack and passes it out, some simple breakfast biscuits, in cellophane wrapping.

“I think we need to talk about our plan,” Elijah notes, as he sits to open his food. “We don’t have a concrete plan for what to do when we get there.” 

Dana takes a deep breath, nervously, and Brittany follows when she sees her reaction to the question.

Dana shakes her head to get herself to focus. “I have two things we all need to know going forward.” She explains, in a painfully rushed and restrained manner. “First, my sisters were traveling from Yeshua when we ran into them, as I was informed last night. Brittany mentioned there were rumors of an invasion coming as well.” 

Dana takes another breath, loosening her voice a bit. “And secondly, because my sister Brittany ratted on my other sister Karen, preventing her from helping us out.” She explains.

Karen begins gently growling as Brittany starts to subtly move towards the door, being quickly stopped by Elijah.

“I thought you said you wanted to wait until I told her!?” Brittany exclaims, confused.

Dana stares daggers at her, making her cower. “The mission is more important than you are right now Brittany. If you want to make up for it, be an asset for us.” She explains.

Brittany turns her attention to Karen, who is after Dana’s words, is seen taking a series of deep breaths. “That makes more sense than I care to admit,” Karen admits, calmly. “How else do they get an image of a masked thief.” She adds.

Brittany stands up, still shaken. “I’m sorry.” She says.

Dana holds her hand up signaling the attention. “Whose plan was it to rob me in the first place?” Dana asks.

Karen takes a breath. “Mine. But may I repay it back with information, given my situation?” She asks candidly.

“It would be much appreciated,” Dana says, reassuring her to continue.

Karen nods and takes a deep breath to steady herself. 

“If you need to get inside undetected, you need to talk to Mal” She explains. “He’s a shifty Raccoon that I made friends with hanging around the city. If we talk to him, I can get some of you in with him pretty quickly.”

“That sounds pretty good,” Farah says. 

Dana thinks for a second. “Brittany, who did Karen steal from?”

“Why is that important?” She asks hastily.

All that it earns is a judging look from Dana and Elijah.

She takes a breath. “Right, my bad.” She says, gathering herself. “Prince, Yeshua’s Jackal city leader.”

“Did you talk to him through legal means or illegal?” Dana asks, interested.

“A little bit of both,” Brittany replies. “I met his secretary while selling some stolen goods.

“We need a name and a description,” Elijah says, plainly. “Otherwise we don’t know what we are looking for.”

Brittany nods. “She’s a small Calico Cat with that dual eye color thing.”

“Heterochromia?” Miko asks.

“I don’t know the official term.” She responds. 

“What do we think?” Elijah asks. “We can decide on this as a group.” 

“I think we need to stay under the radar,” Farah pipes up. “We were always supposed to handle this with caution.” 

“I agree,” Aaron says. “It’s made easier with having a guy to look to for help.” 

“I’m not sure,” Hiro says. “It does make us appear better if we come through more legal means”

“We can use both.” Miko proposes.

“What are you thinking?” Farah asks.

“We can use Mal to get inside as a team, then a few of us can speak with Prince, maybe even talk alliance with him,” Miko explains. “And on the plus side, we can take refuge inside the city.” 

Elijah shakes his head disapprovingly. “I think that needs a few revisions, Miko.”

Hiro nods his head in agreement. 

“She explained enough, Elijah,” Lars replies, walking over to Miko. “I like Miko’s plan.” 

Aaron, Dana, and Farah nod in agreement.

“Fine,” Elijah says, slightly miffed. ‘In that case, we should get a move on. We need time to make this work.”

“Then let’s move,” Miko says, eagerly grabbing her bag, and putting it on her back. “I’m ready, who else is?” 

The rest of the group follows suit, grabbing their equipment and loading up, and after a final sweep to make sure they didn’t leave anything, exits onto the trail.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Sun is setting over the rustic Yeshua Village, bathed in yellow warmth and the wooden structures walled in by grey, worn stone. Wooden guard towers are at the corners of this area. The further inside the more structurally sound structures, and at the back, what appears to be a well maintained, mansion and suburban housing nearby. 

The crowds seemingly in a waltz as they move around the dirt road seamlessly while many people and animals meshing with one another trying to get to their destination, almost robotically, walking by storefronts and houses carrying various items just trying to get where they need to, including a high strung Jackal, carrying a worn briefcase.

A small raccoon wearing a sweatshirt and shorts falls down, and in effect, trips the Jackal in front of him, causing him to lose his briefcase and he drops a ton of papers on the dirt road and makes him seeth in anger.

“My apologies.” The raccoon says apologetically “I lost my footing.” 

The Raccoon grabs his fallen papers as the Jackal stands himself up, and wipes himself off. 

“It won’t happen again.” The Raccoon says, handing him all his sheets.”

The Jackal has a minor scowl upon his face but takes a quick breath. “It’s alright.” He replies calmly, taking back his pages.”Future conflicts can have worse outcomes.” He remarks, to the raccoon in a condescending manner.

The Raccoon nods and scurries away without an extra word. 

He quickly shrinks inside the alleyway beside a common goods store, labeled ‘Freda’s’ and opens the basement hatch on the side, he opens it and checks his back, then heads inside quickly.

Inside is a trove of mixed goods and items, all of the high quality and mixed nature, making them appear sketchy. The room has many unlabeled stalls with a few of them populated by different characters like a small scarred Rabbit, a skinny human with a mohawk, and a seemingly innocent cat followed by many others just patrolling the areas with intrigue in mind. In the furthest back stood a separate room, with the sign, ‘Malachite’s goods’ on top, currently closed.

A large guy puts a gun directly to the raccoon's head, but after a closer look, puts it down. 

“Did you get anything good Mal?” He asks.

“I think I only have some political stuff this time. ” The raccoon replies. “I stole from the City runner and some common folk, but I think the city guy recognized me,” Mal explains.

“Another death threat?” The guy asks. 

Mal nods. “Yeah, and it’s as equally meaningless as the last,” He replies. “I’ve stopped caring at this point, he never remembers me anyway, I’ve stolen from him like 3 times this week.”

Mal pulls back his sleeve and looks at his watch. “Time for me to make my money. I’ll talk to you later Bri-an.” 

The guy shakes his head as Mal walks off. “For the last time, you hard of hearing idiot, my name is Brian.”

Mal heads to his room and opens the door, and he flicks on the light, revealing shelves stacked and carefully labeled for the contents. Swords, guns, bullets all neatly prepared, and next to that multiple file cabinets filled with papers labeled blackmail, leaked material, personal information, all listed. This is all situated in front of a disheveled desk, scratched and messy with older documents. 

Mal walks through his room and takes a seat at his desk and pulls out the papers he has grabbed. Nothing interesting as per usual. He yawns for a second and stands up from the desk.

He reaches into his top drawer and grabs an elastic to bind them, and steps up to put it inside the file cabinet, inside the leaked material.

“Can I get some help?”

Mal turns and sees a small female with black hair wearing a black pantsuit and a white dress shirt with black shoes, who stands in the doorway.

Mal looks at her a bit confused, but shakes it off, “What do you need, honey?” 

She takes a step inside and looks around the room, with arms behind her back, almost like she expected something. She directs her attention back to Mal. “Do you have any blackmail for the city leader?” She asks.

“Gimme a sec,” Mal responds. He opens his Blackmail drawer and starts to rifle through them looking for some stuff. “What did he do?” He asks.

“What do you mean?” She asks.

Mal shakes his head. “I have seen people come to me for all sorts of reasons, cheating wives, lying best friends, purely money,” He replies. “I want to know your reason.” 

She scratches the back of her neck and coughs lightly, “He’s pushed too many buttons for my liking.” She explains.

Mal closes the drawer and takes a breath, turning towards her. “Explain?” He asks, firmly.

“Well, he’s affected me so many times,” She explains. “ I can’t really go into detail without...”

“Stop,” Mal interjects, sternly. “I need a straight answer or you aren’t getting anything.” 

She composes herself. “Then I’ll be on my way then.” She replies, in a solemn tone. Before walking out. 

Mal shakes his head in disgust, before returning to his desk for a minute. He walks back over to his desk and takes a seat back at his desk, and he starts rifling through the papers on his desk, looking to quickly organize them after double-checking the information on them. A few minutes into reading them he loses focus and falls asleep, on top of them.

A female raccoon wearing the name tag ‘Freda’ enters his office, unnoticed by him. She walks over to his desk at a quick pace then she shakes him to wake him up.

“Hey…” 

‘TOK!’

Mal tossed a throwing knife at her, and only nearly missed, sticking into the wall. He almost immediately realized his mistake.

“I’m not going to tell you again not to do that,” Mal says insistently.

She doesn’t react. “Not important right now. Brit is here again” 

Mal shakes his head in frustration. “Why?” He asks. 

“She says she needs your help,” Freda responds. “Her sister requires assistance.” 

“Of course she fucking does,” Mal says. “I don’t work with traitors.” 

“Not Karen, her other sister,” Freda says. “And her group of friends.”

Mal takes a second to breathe. “Let her and them come in, but let her know if she isn’t honest, I’m cutting her throat,” Mal says, bluntly.

Freda sighs. “I’ll go get them.”


End file.
